along with the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante, BMW Z8, and the Ferrari 360 Spider.

0-60 4.39
0-70 5.41
0-80 6.70
0-90 8.24
0-100 9.87
0-100-0 14.40
1/4 mile 12.55 @ 116.10

The SL55 was the fastest in all acceleration tests except for 0-30, 0-40, and 0-50 where the 360 Spider was just a bit quicker.
In Braking and the 600-ft slalom, the SL55 was second to the 360 Spider.
The SL55 they tested was a Euro version and the HP listed was 469. Motor Trend said the US version will have 493 HP. So I guess this was one of the early SL55's that had less HP before MB made some "changes" for it to get around 500 HP. I still don't get it, did MB/AMG really do anything to the SL55 to increase the HP, or did the SL55 have this much power all along and MB was just giving conservative HP figures at the begining?

 

I heard a while ago from some MB insiders that it always had 500HP...

Blue Benz...posted pics of my CLK in the poll thread above

 

From what I have found out the HP level for the SL55 AMG was set officially at 476HP (469 US HP??) then further tests revealed that the actual horsepowers varied between 476HP and 500HP due to the supercharger effeciency. Now this alone was not so much an issue but when they tested the E55 AMG using the same engine it was 'noticibaly' quicker than the SL55 AMG. They then decided to 'reign' in the engine and 'fix' or 'limit' it to 469HP for the E55 AMG and 'limit' it to 500HP for the SL55 AMG. This would help offset the weight differences for these two vehicles. This difference would also ensure the SL55 always has a very slight edge on the E55 AMG if any at all. Of course weather conditions will still permit a variance in actual HP so on a cold day you could see a new SL55 producing more than 500HP or a E55 producing more than 469HP.

So if you had one of the earlier SL55s your HP rating could have been anywhere between 476 and 500HP.

 

SL55 is a beast! That is all i can say.

 

HAHAHA Hi I am new to the board.

I test drove my uncle's 03 SL500 and it was soo fat and rad. Cruisin down PCH in the drop top with all eyes on you...Lovely..breath taking with all that torque, more modern and nothing like my Z

lol What's weird is in motor trend they have a picture in the article with the sl55 trailing the 360 (showing the $10,000 glass over the engine) even though most of the editors chose the AMG fed SL over the Modena, he is now trading in his SL500 because the value has gone up for a Modena....i like the modena but im in love with a F355 Spyder, his "toy" b4 the SL

 

Welcome i wuv BENZ, you are gonna have fun here.

 

When I testdrove my father's SL back a few months in Europe, I thought it did not have sufficient power, and the engine/exhaust were relatively crude. The cause for both these impressions must have been the fact that for more than five years, he has also owned (and still does) an SL600 who is still more superior in both aspects, and even looks better build (it is not necessarily better build, but looks like carved from a huge piece of black metal). By the way, the SL was the blue limited edition, with the special five spoke wheels.

 

I think the 129 SL600 was underrated. I have one and it was much better than the SL500 I had before, so when choosing the new car, there's no way I could go for the regular SL500 so an Sl55 it is. I think the SL350 is going to be pretty unexciting but I'm sure there are lots of people who will be happy with it.

I'm hoping the SL55 will provide more of a sports car experience than the SL600 which is great for long distance cruising but it all falls apart on the backroads. The rack and pinion steering should help, as should the ABC to stop it rolling, squatting and diving, but the SL55 is still a very heavy car and I'm not expecting Porsche or Ferrari like agility.

The resale I've been offered on my SL600 is so bad i've decided to keep it for times when I can't be certain where I'll be leaving the SL55 overnight.

 

I have been driving SL55 some weeks.

When I bought it at Germany,
I checked the difference between 476 HP and 500 HP.

AMG called the job to make 500HP as V-MAX chiptuning.
It costs 1,380 euro and consists of two things; speed limit
removal and new 330 km/h speedmeter installation.
Engine itself has been always 500HP.

 

Damn, that's NICE ! ! !

 

eks.

When I bought it at Germany,
I checked the difference between 476 HP and 500 HP.

AMG called the job to make 500HP as V-MAX chiptuning.
It costs 1,380 euro and consists of two things; speed limit
removal and new 330 km/h speed

 

I just read something interesting...regarding the horsepower rating on the SL 55 which confirms what I had been told...(that the 55 always had over 500HP) Apparently the different figures had to do with Cetification of Specification...that you have to certify a maximum achievable specification...and AMG opted to certify the engine at a lower number (for 2002) and then after further testing and production have now recertified the engine at 500HP for 2003.

Here is the Altavista translation from the German:

55 AMG, change of certifying The engine performance of the SL55 AMG became during the type testing in accordance with 80/1269/EWG i.d.F. 1999/99/EG with 350 KW with 6100 min-1 certifies. With this indication it should be guaranteed that in series production this achievement with security is not fallen below. Engine performance measurements in the context of the prescribed product monitoring (Conformity OF Production/copilot) resulted in that the achievement of the engines lies in the upper tolerance field permissible for series production. For this reason we decided to certify performance data again. For vehicles model year ago 2003 (code 802, production to including 3. Decade May 2002) exists the possibility of changing the achievement data in the registration papers of 350 KW (476 HP) on 368 KW (500 HP). New system permission for the SL55 AMG, which are at present provided, offers the basis for it. Thus the possibility is created of obtaining a correction of the indication of achievement in the registration papers. The SL 55 AMG starting from model year 2003 (code 803, production starting from 1.Dekade June 2002) is certified with an output of 368 KW (500 HP) in the registration papers.